A man has been hospitalized in critical condition following a jet ski accident on the mighty Mississippi River, occurring this past Sunday evening just north of the I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge.
The Memphis Police Department received a distress call and responded to the accident shortly after 7:30 p.m., Local Memphis reports. the officers quickly commenced rescue operations for the man, whose evening on the river took a perilous turn after his jet ski capsized, flinging him into the tumultuous embrace of the river. A witness who was operating another jet ski when it happened told officers the victim accidentally went full throttle and wrecked out.
Further accounts detailed by Action News 5, convey that nearby jet ski riders, upon returning to the harbor, observed the stricken jet ski and approached to render aid; they found one man unresponsive in the water and another, wearing a red life jacket, on an additional jet ski who initially assured them that they were fine. Yet the gravity of the situation was clear, and the responding citizens stayed with the victim providing essential support until they reached the shore where medical assistance awaited.
The unidentified man was then transported to Regional One Health in Memphis, where he remains in critical condition; the Memphis Police, who launched their own vessel to join the rescue, continued to investigate the incident, while the victim's companion explained the machine's surge in speed led to an abrupt and dangerous 'wreck out', as WREG Memphis notes.
